Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: guns and cigarettes

[Matt Lawrence (matt]

On Mon, 28 Oct 2002, Andrew Watkins wrote:

> You folks have my sympathy. The question about guns doesn't arise in the 
> uk. 

I thought certain type of rifles or shotguns were legal there.
 
> Pardon my ignorance but does the US constitution actually prevent a 
> community from banning firearms within its environs ?

It's a really screwy situation.  CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and
restrictions) are civil contracts that are signed (if applicable) when a
property is purchased.  The courts have been deciding which rights can be
signed away and which rights cannot with some confusion and contradiction.
All in all, it tends to be very strange, some CC&Rs go so far as to
regulate what flowers can be planted in front (or in back) of houses.  In
any case, these are civil issues, not criminal ones so the legal system
tends to deal with them differently.

As an aside, the courts decided several years ago that the CC&Rs
prohibiting external antennas did not apply to DSS dishes.  I think the
whole "freedom of the press" issue may have been involved.  Quite a
difference from Great Britain where people have to pay a tax to be allowed
to watch television.

And, no, I'm not trying to continue the flamewar about guns.  However, the
whole issue of CC&Rs can be incredibly complex and I strongly recommend
talking with a highly-trained professional.

-- Matt

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